Reason 2: The minor is innocent and has no interest in sexual activity.
Response 2: I don’t think one can make the sweeping generalization that all minors are sexually innocent. Certainly according to our definition of “minor” as used in this post, many teenagers have had extensive sexual experience. As to prepubescent minors, one would imagine a range of sexual interest and activity. Much of the child sexuality literature indicates that children are very sexual beings, or at the least, not completely asexual. For more information, see Child Sexuality Part 1, C. S. Part 2, and C. S. Part 3. As for childhood innocence, children can be quite nasty creatures. If you have ever been bullied on the playground or snubbed in middle school, no doubt you can fully appreciate what I’m talking about. And amidst the ruckus over adult-child sex abuse, sexual abuse of children by children occurs as well, as documented by the pertinent literature.

Reason 3: The minor is always hurt in a pedosexual interaction.
Response 3: Again, I question the wholesale validity of this sweeping generalization. I have personally known someone who reported enjoying a positive sexual experience with a woman twenty years older than he while in his teens. In a Dutch study, some respondents indicated having fond memories of the experience (see Effects of Intergenerational Contact, Part 2). Very likely, such positive effects are the exception. From a statistical perspective, most pedosexual behavior, especially those with a substantial age difference, seems to produce negative results. However, this may be due to harsh social condemnation and invalidation more than any direct negative consequence. It may also be due to the fact that (as mentioned earlier) child and adult conceptions of sex differ, and this difference is not easily reconciled in pedosexual interactions. The young child does not understand abstract moral concepts; to him, “good” behavior leads to reward and the “bad” leads to punishment. In other words, the parent essentially shapes the child’s morality through his/her reactions to circumstances. If the child is caught in a pedosexual act and the parents wax hysterical, the child will think he has committed an abomination and tremendous mental anxiety will ensue. Of course, the child may feel very hurt in the first place, but before parents over-react, perhaps it would be wise to ask the child how he perceived the situation. Unfortunately, the child may see this as a “test” and struggle to provide the “correct” answer, so it is important that outside forces do not sway him to feel a certain way. Also, in the case of a pedosexual encounter where a minor agrees to be sexually stimulated and finds the experience pleasant, the act is not comparable to rape. The latter is a painful and degrading violation of another’s body, while the former is not necessarily painful or degrading.

Contention B: Pedophilia constitutes a compulsion to have sex with minors.
Response: I’m not sure what evidence would be used to support this claim, although it is widely asserted, and more often taken for granted. In this case, we ought to make the distinction between clinical pedophilia and pedophilia as an adult attraction for minors. Clinical pedophilia, as defined by the DSM-IV, “involves sexual activity with a prepubescent child (generally age 13 years or younger).” Diagnostic criteria include: “Over a period of at least six months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger). The person has acted on these sexual urges, or the sexual urges or fantasies caused marked distress or interpersonal difficulty.” [From DSM-IV - TR 302.2 Pedophilia.] From lurking on the various pedophilia boards, few pedophiles satisfied both criteria — either recurrent, intense urges or distress/difficulty resulting from their condition. So, although one may be attracted to children does not necessarily mean one experiences intense urges to molest them. Also, I’m wondering if there’s any evidence correlating poor impulse control to pedophiles, and further, if such a study might not be skewed due to the nature of its respondents (convicted child molesters).

       

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